extralegal
Outside the law
Extralegal describes actions or arrangements outside the formal legal system—neither explicitly permitted nor prohibited by law.
Vigilante justice is extralegal: The community relied on extralegal means to handle disputes the courts ignored.
Unlike illegal, which means against the law, extralegal occupies a gray zone where law simply doesn't reach or hasn't yet addressed.
Extralegal enforcement by civilians
- self-helpUnassisted personal development
- lynch mobCrowd executing without trial
- posseArmed group pursuing fugitives
- bounty hunterProfessional fugitive capturer
citizen's arrest · mob justice · retribution · paramilitaries · death squad · extrajudicial · frontier justice · kangaroo court
Not officially permitted
- unlicensedWithout official permit
- illegitimateNot authorized or recognized
- forbiddenNot allowed
- prohibitedOfficially not permitted
outlawed · illicit · underground · black-market · contraband · bootleg · smuggled · banned
Not formally recognized
- off-the-recordNot for attribution
- under-the-tableSecret and unofficial
- unrecognizedNot identified or acknowledged
- unratifiedNot formally confirmed
off-the-books · handshake · unwritten · customary · de facto · tacit · undocumented · noninstitutional
Openness to multiple interpretations
- loopholeExploitable gap in rules
- twilight zoneUnclear intermediate state
- borderlineEdge of acceptability
- liminalAt a threshold
murky · nebulous · shadowy · unregulated · indeterminate · equivocal · undefined · fuzzy
vigilantism
Extralegal enforcement by civilians
- self-helpUnassisted personal development
- lynch mobCrowd executing without trial
- posseArmed group pursuing fugitives
bounty hunter · citizen's arrest · mob justice · retribution · paramilitaries · death squad · extrajudicial · frontier justice · kangaroo court · vendetta
unsanctioned
Not officially permitted
- unlicensedWithout official permit
- illegitimateNot authorized or recognized
- forbiddenNot allowed
prohibited · outlawed · illicit · underground · black-market · contraband · bootleg · smuggled · banned · clandestine
unofficial
Not formally recognized
- off-the-recordNot for attribution
- under-the-tableSecret and unofficial
- unrecognizedNot identified or acknowledged
unratified · off-the-books · handshake · unwritten · customary · de facto · tacit · undocumented · noninstitutional · grassroots
ambiguity
Openness to multiple interpretations
- loopholeExploitable gap in rules
- twilight zoneUnclear intermediate state
- borderlineEdge of acceptability
liminal · murky · nebulous · shadowy · unregulated · indeterminate · equivocal · undefined · fuzzy · vague
workaround
Makeshift bypass of difficulty
exploit · backdoor · maneuver · dodging · gaming the system · end-run · avoidance · sidestep · runaround · detour
extralegallegal
Permitted by statute
lawful · statutory · codified · legitimate · constitutional
extralegalofficial
Authority-sanctioned person or status
formal · procedural · bureaucratic · codified · institutional